#3: Brandon Lam & Asma Ahmed: Software Engineer Interns at NASA, Projects vs. LeetCode, How Much a NASA Intern Make

12k students apply to NASA Glenn internships each year, and only 162 are selected. We sat down with two of them – Brandon Lam, a rising junior at the University of Minnesota studying Computer Science, and Asma Ahmed, a recent University of Central Florida graduate with a bachelor’s in Information Technology. We discussed how to land your first tech internship, the full stack at NASA internships (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, Node.js, Express, Figma), converting applets from the first version of Java, grinding LeetCode everyday for four months, getting involved with hackathons/clubs, college resumes, the technical interview process, Interns vs. Pathways Interns, making $X per hour (no spoilers) at NASA, and much more.

Thank you to Nancy H. and Jacqueline M. at NASA for reviewing.

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Show Notes:

(0:00) Intro + Bobas

(2:35) Experience at NASA

(9:15) How to land a NASA internship

(12:50) Resumes

(14:55) Should one still LeetCode in 2023

(19:15) Other advice for college students

(23:15) Skipping class

(24:25) Personal projects

(29:30) Interview process

(31:30) Regular Interns vs Pathways Interns

(33:50) How much does a NASA intern get paid

(35:40) Have fun and take things easy

(36:30) Feeling behind

(38:20) From Minnesota to HackNYU

(39:35) IB school experience

(46:55) What's next

(47:35) Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) 

Episode links:

• ⁠Beginners Guide to Aeronautics
• International Space Station (ISS)
• NASA Glenn Research Center
• ⁠LeetCode
• HACKUIOWA
• HackNYU
• LAHacks
• First Robotics Competition
• Sparks Magazine (UCF)
• Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
• Pathways Intern at NASA
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

A Day in the Life:

• A Day in the Life: SWE Intern @ NASA (Brandon)
• A Day in the Life: SWE Intern @ NASA (Asma): Coming Soon

Keep up with Brandon:

• Instagram: @brandonblam
• LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/brandon-nguyen-lam
• GitHub: .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}